Bumper, Taillight and rear quarter panel... That'll be over your deductible for sure. Ouch, sorry to hear.
Been there, had that done, except in my case the driver was in an 18-wheeler who "didn't see me." Hope you weren't hurt, and that the other driver is insured so that it doesn't cost you out-of-pocket.
In New Jersey? Inattentive? I shudder to think... Seriously, sorry to hear of the incident. Hopefully, once fixed, you'll never know it ever happened.
Thanks guys. This happened during a traffic jam on the Garden State Parkway. We were rolling along around 20mph when I got hit. When we pulled over to the side of the road, the kid got out of his car with a Smartphone in his hand. I can't prove it, but I'll bet he was attending to someting very important on it. The car goes into the shop this week and there'll be a rental waiting for me. There's a $500 deductible, but my insurance company told me they'll get it back for me from the other company.
TWD my father has been rear ended three times in the last couple years, all by women TWD. they think it's safe because you're stuck intraffic. you can see them looking down in your rear view mirror. too bad they can't match the time of accident to the phone record.
The accident report asks if either driver was on a cellphone. I don't own one, but I wrote in that I didn't see him on it, but the kid had one in his hand when he got out of his car and that he held onto it the entire time we were exchanging information.
They do exactly that here in California, at least for serious accidents. I think they have to get a court order for phone company records, but if you allow a police officer to look at your phone at the scene, that may be all it takes. There was an incident here a few years ago where a teenaged girl ran a red light and killed two college students. Even with the records, the police weren't able to prove she had been texting at the exact moment of the accident, although she had been moments before. Three young lives impacted tragically forever, just for most likely trivial conversation. The local Toyota dealer has an off-premises service facility a couple of blocks from the main store, so they have porters drive customers' cars in between. The other day I noticed one behind me with the service tag hanging from the mirror and the driver looking down in his lap. Not only was he doing this while stopped at a light, but continued as we drove down the street. I immediately called the service department to report it (got them on my hands free speed dial). The service manager was appreciative of my call and said he would be able to tell from the tag number and cameras they have who was driving the vehicle. Some may say it was chickensh** of me to do that, but he could have easily hit me or someone else, even a pedestrian or cyclist, due to his inattention to driving.
A cellphone is a normal accessory for the end of a hand when you exit a vehicle for those of us that are still young-ish. Just because he got out with it, doesn't mean he was on it. I never leave the car without getting my phone out of the cupholder, and if it was an accident I would want to photograph it, phone the police/insurance/mom/whoever so the phone is coming with me in my hand. Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions about this "kid".
The insurance report had the question on it and I answered it. When I asked the kid why he ran into me in a traffic jam, he said he looked down for a second. He also admitted to me and his father it was his fault, his dad called me up and told me as much. Sorry, but I don't let my life revolve around a phone.
Good of the kid to accept responsibility, but in the situation you described, it's awfully hard to fix blame anywhere else. If you rear-end another vehicle, you didn't have yours under control.
Right, and that's why his insurance company is paying for everything. His father even told me that he hopes his son realizes that his premiums will likely go up. He's 20 years old.
In the US, it is 100% his fault. Other countries the blame could be parted out in some rear end situations but not this one. It's good he is taking blame. A phone is not uncommon. We aren't in the days of horse buggies anymore. I was just pointing out that in today's society it is perfectly normal for a phone to be in a hand outside the vehicle without it causing the accident or even being a part in it.
El Dobro sorry to see that, where and when did this happen on the GSP? Any time you hit somebody from behind it's your fault, not big deal to admit it!
It happened Thursday morning just before exit 136, heading north. Funny thing was I was already back in the car heading to work and they were announcing the crash on the traffic report saying there were tow trucks involved and that it was holding up traffic. Heck, we had the crash in a traffic jam.
